This article presents the results of the first empirical qualitative research on the provision of restorative justice (RJ) in Scotland, based on interviews with 14 practitioners. In Scotland, RJ has attracted the attention of penal reformers and practitioners since the late 1980s, offering an alternative to criminal justice practices based on retribution and/or rehabilitation whilst promising to reduce reoffending and heal people harmed by crime. In 2017, the Scottish Government has fully recognized the existence of RJ by issuing the first national ‘Guidance’ for the delivery of this process, followed by an ambitious ‘Action Plan’. In spite of such a long-lasting interest and recent policy recognition, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the organization and actual delivery of RJ in Scotland. In fact, research on this subject is scant, anecdotal and dated. This article addresses this knowledge gap by presenting original data on the provision of RJ within Scottish local authorities. The findings show similar understandings of RJ, context-specific organizational models and common systemic challenges characterizing RJ providers, generating evidence to critically assess recent Scottish policy on RJ, whilst drawing implications with relevance for the development of RJ across Europe.

中文翻译：

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苏格兰恢复性司法的地方规定：一项探索性实证研究

本文基于对 14 位从业者的访谈，介绍了苏格兰恢复性司法 (RJ) 提供的首次实证定性研究的结果。在苏格兰，自 1980 年代后期以来，RJ 吸引了刑事改革者和从业者的注意，它提供了一种基于报复和/或康复的刑事司法实践的替代方案，同时承诺减少再犯罪并治愈因犯罪而受到伤害的人。2017 年，苏格兰政府通过发布第一个国家“指南”来实现这一过程，并随后发布了雄心勃勃的“行动计划”，从而充分认识到 RJ 的存在。尽管有如此长期的兴趣和最近的政策认可，但仍缺乏关于苏格兰 RJ 的组织和实际交付的知识。事实上，这方面的研究很少，轶事和过时。本文通过介绍苏格兰地方当局提供 RJ 的原始数据来解决这一知识差距。调查结果显示了对 RJ 的类似理解、特定于环境的组织模型以及 RJ 提供者特征的常见系统挑战，为批判性评估苏格兰最近的 RJ 政策提供了证据，同时得出了与整个欧洲 RJ 发展相关的影响。